Pikachu's Lament
by Anna M. Grace
Summary: After a near death experience, Pikachu must team up with an unlikely companion in order to save the lives of her brothers. But, with strange forces at work, a language barrier, and trying to learn how to use her new body, even keeping herself alive is easier said than done!
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, we've got to get at least ten more Pikachu tails or Boss will have our heads." The Team Rocket goons stalked through the high grass wiping thick beads of sweat off of their foreheads. Tiny annoying insects bit at their faces and arms as they trudged around the large field. They shifted uncomfortably under the weight of the packs they had been carrying since sun up. With the sun Dipping low and only a few usable tails in their bags, the couple felt crunched for time.

"There's one" Clay sighed. The tiny yellow creature sniffed at a spiky looking plant before plucking it and nibbling on the ends.

"Look at the tail moron. It's a girl. Boss made it clear he only wanted the bolt shaped ones." Allison snapped throwing an angry glare at her partner as he sighed loudly. The Pikachu perked its ears and looked around.

"Shh." Allison put her finger to her lips and shushed as quietly as she could.

Pikachu bristled then shook it off. She was sure she had heard something.

"Pika" _Brother_ her tiny voice broke the evening silence.

"Ka Chu?" _what's there?_ The reply came from her right. She smiled and hopped quickly towards it.

"Pi Pi Ka" _a noise. It scared me._ She nuzzled her big brother and handed him the prickly plant she found. _"It's yummy"_

He took it and nibbled on a piece. "Pika Pi!" he called in to the air.

"Now!" Allison yelled. Both Pikachus, startled, looked towards her just as a net fell on the brother. He thrashed and clawed at the netting but to no avail. Panicking, he sent out a strong blast of electricity. It traveled out and away from him but suddenly shot back electrocuting him painfully.

" _Brother!"_

 _"Run!"_ Pikachu squeaked loudly as his tail was roughly pulled through the wires.

"Hold it tighter so he doesn't squirm." Allison instructed, pulling a large pair of sheers from a sheath on her boot. Clay twisted the netting as thigh as he could, forcing the animal in to a tight ball.

"Don't worry little guy, it'll only hurt a lot." Allison smiled evilly as she grasped the tail in her hand. She felt at the softness of it for a moment before yanking it almost straight. Pikachu screamed as the joints in his tail cracked and dislocated.

"After we get it should we drop it or skin it?" Clay asked looking the pathetic thing in the face.

"Ooh, I do like the striping on it." Allison replied smiling. "He'd make an excellent pair of gloves." Being extremely careful, she aligned the sheers to the very base of the tail and was about to close them when pain burst like a balloon through her body.

"Allison!" Clay scrambled towards her as a bright flash of yellow singed the ground next to him. He turned towards the source when another flash caught his eye. The girl Pikachu tore at the twists in the net freeing her half-conscious brother. She pulled him on to her back and carried him away as another jolt flew towards the Team Rockets. Allison stood and grabbed her newest invention, it was a long sturdy pole with an adjustable loop at the end that was long enough to prevent any direct attacks and was electric proofed. It had been modified to sedate the Pokémon it was used on, and was extremely helpful for removing wild Pokémon that had wandered in to towns. Boss had given her a lot of praise for the creation and now every member of Team Rocket carried one.

"If the Stone netting won't hold you bastards then this sure will." She dived at the spot where the last lightning bolt had come from and saw a quick flash of fur dart in to the grass. She dashed after it breaking through on to a rocky river bank. Three Pikachus moved quickly along the rocks away from their attackers. She could easily point out the one she had captured a moment ago for it was being supported by the other two, the girl and another boy that must have been the one attacking her and Clay. She ran after them, Clay close behind, holding out the pole. The unwounded boy turned suddenly and blasted electricity at her making her fall back.

"Oh, you stupid little rat, are most definitely getting made in to gloves." She spit while dodging another attack. Clay burst out of the grass suddenly and bashed into the unsuspecting Pokémon. The girl Pikachu froze, still supporting her wounded brother as the rocket tackled the dazed Pokémon he had hit. His hand reached for the pocket on his side and, after fishing for a second, produced a brand new Ultra Ball. He slammed it down on the Pikachu's head causing a bright light to explode from the ball and envelope the stunned Pikachu. Clay clamped the ball shut and held it as tight as he could until the center light dimmed.

He handed the ball to Allison, who smiled with triumph. The girl Pikachu gasped as her brother was sucked in to the bubble. She threw out as many sparks towards the humans as she could, only to be met with a hard force busting her side. Clay kicked her towards the water, knocking the air out of her lungs. Pikachu quickly regained her bearings and scrambled back up towards the Rockets. She bristled with electricity, every hair on her body standing on end. She tackled the one who had the pocket full of bubbles and let lose all of her power as she landed on him.

The air was burning hot and Pikachu felt herself loosing energy, but she kept the flow going for as long as she could. Suddenly something tightened around her neck and she was slung in to the air. Her flow of electricity was immediately cut off as the cord dug in to her neck. Allison glared at her prisoner then sighed as Clay stood on shaky legs. Allison had pocketed the ball and regarded the other two Pokémon.

"Clay, get the other boy while I take care of her." She tightened the restraint cutting off the Pokémon's air supply. Clay pulled out another Poke Ball and captured the now unconscious Pikachu.

" _Brothers! Brothers, no!"_ she squealed and shrieked as the human plunged her in to the water. " _Brothers!"_ Bubbles burst from her mouth and the icy water stung her flesh as she thrashed and tried sending out electricity but her wet cheeks wouldn't even spark.

" _No, brothers...I have to save...you..."_ her mind got thick as her oxygen starved brain tried to think. She inhaled and the icy hand of death squeezed her lungs hard. She was suddenly yanked up and hanged as the humans stared at her.

"Are you gonna skin that one too?" Clay asked almost shaking with excitement.

"Seriously? It's not even pretty enough to line shoes with." With that Pikachu was forced back in to the water and her face was pushed roughly in to the mud lining the walls of the river. Pikachu's head exploded with pain and a dull red tinge muddied the water around her. Only tiny bubbles escaped her lungs now and her eyesight was quickly fading. The noose suddenly loosened and she felt herself rising to the surface but not soon enough. Darkness flooded her head and she suddenly felt very relaxed. The water didn't hurt anymore, in fact, it was very comfortable. Pikachu blinked, seeing nothing, and finally let the darkness consume her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Pikachu. Pikachu, wake up." The distant voice echoed through her head. Two bright dots of light penetrated the unending darkness that filled her pounding head. "Pikachu, you have to get up now." the voice insisted.

"No..." she moaned weakly.

"There is still something you must do."

"I can't. I'm dead. "She whispered.

She could sense whatever was talking smile. "Your body was, but not your mind. Not yet. Go now and save them." the dots became two cat like eyes that opened wide. The light coming from them gleamed and soon the blinding white enveloped her.

"Go."

Pikachu shot up and coughed hard. Her ribs were on fire and her head was pounding. She looked around fervently but the motion made her stomach churn. She squeezed her eyes shut hard and tried opening them again. She rose her paw to wipe her mouth and recoiled in horror. A slender human hand replaced her short fluffy paw. She went completely rigid as the water stilled and showed her reflection. She was no longer a Pikachu, but a young girl. Short yellow fur covered her head and her ears lay flat, blending in with two of the only long pieces of hair that fell on either side of her face. Her too-red cheeks burned.

Humans had hurt her in so many ways and now she was one? The thought filled her with rage. She splashed at the water disrupting the reflection and made her way to the dry land. She winced as pain racked through her. That human had kicked her hard, a rib might be broken. She stretched out and arched her back. Pain snapped through her making her cry out. She squeezed her eyes closed and the image of the cat like eyes flashed behind them as if seared in to her eye lids.

" _Why did you do this to me?"_ She screamed at the eyes.

" _Save them..."_ the voice echoed weakly in her ears.

Pikachu pushed her hands against her head trying to smother the voice that kept echoing that same phrase over and over.

"OK!" She screamed. Her voice startled her. It was still the same as when she was a Pikachu, but she had just used a human phrase.

"Ohh." She tested her mouth. "Kayyy?" It felt weird but also natural.

"Pika pi?" saying that felt strange. The feeling of her tongue against new teeth made her mouth feel funny. She didn't know any human words, or at least she didn't really understand a lot of them. Her brothers had taught her some phrases from kids that would play in the grass but they mostly tried to play with the family of Pikachus. She liked the soft voices they had used. A soft breeze disturbed the water and she sighed. It was cold and she had no fur anymore. She didn't understand much about humans but she did understand that humans wore clothes and she didn't have any. How was she supposed to rescue her brothers like this? Pikachu tried to stand and found herself on long, lanky, uneasy legs. She took half a step and fell against the rocks. They dug in to her at every angle. She began to crawl carefully towards the grass where the ground would be dirt and not cut in to her.

A rustling in the grass startled her as a young brown haired man made his way to the water's edge a little way from where she sat. He Knelt down and pulled one of the bubbles out of odd pockets on his pants. He said something to it then held the ball out towards the water. A bright light shone from it and a second later a Seaking was splashing happily in the river. The boy smiled and leaned down to get a drink. Pikachu, who had frozen upon hearing the rustling, darted her eyes between the grass and the boy. She took a slow breath and inched towards the grass. She flinched at her rib and snapped her head up as she realized how loud the noise she had just made was. The boy had his hands in the water but his eyes were fixed on her in shock.

His face grew red hot as he realized what he was seeing.

"Ah, Sorry!" He threw his hand up over his eyes suddenly, startling Pikachu. She Bolted towards the grass and fell face first in to the barrier. Blood dripped from her head but she wasn't sure when she had been hurt. She moved to wipe it and made eye contact with the boy again.

"Ah, Hey!" he called. The sound of his footsteps drew closer as Pikachu tried to move. Her side ached and she hugged her arm around it trying to ease the pain. She got on to her knees and tried crawling through the grass but was stopped by the boy bursting through the grass in front of her.

"Pi!" she shrieked falling back. She tried to inch back but the burning in her side was unbearable now.

"Hey! Are you OK?" he asked reaching out towards her. He looked only at her face but his cheeks still burned. She hissed at him and tried to send out a shock but only got the faint feeling of static that caused the hairs on her arms to stand on end.

"Here, you're bleeding," He took a tissue out of his pocket and reached for her face. Her eyes glistened with tears and she backed away from him more, flinching as he leaned down.

"Hey...Are you... Afraid of me?" He asked, backing away slightly. The boy looked out at the water, then back at her and gave a sympathetic smile. "I won't hurt you." He crouched down slowly and held the tissue out towards her. Her ears twitched. He sounded like the kids she played with. Pikachu opened her eyes and looked at him, regarding him through her hazy vision. He seemed kind and didn't act like he wanted to hurt her or put her in one of those bubbles. He inched towards her and instead of backing away she squeezed her eyes shut again. Tears dripped from her eyes. His hand swiped across her cheek gently. A small spark jumped from her and he jumped, startled.

"Oh! You shocked me." He chuckled nervously.

Rika relaxed at his nervous smile. He looked as scared as she felt. Her cheek itched but he had used a simple word.

"Shock?" She tested the word. Her electricity was shock? "Shock" She said again.

"Yeah…" He looked at her oddly. He wiped her face again and this time she leaned in to his hand. He wasn't hurting her. He smiled and blushed as she made a content cooing noise.

"Umm, do you have any clothes?" he asked suddenly awkward. He stepped out of the grass and looked along the rocks only to come up short.

"Pi?" She wasn't sure how to answer so she just shook her head.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"Pi" she shook her head again. It seemed like an acceptable answer. He looked around for a second then took off his coat and offered it to her. She pushed herself up on to her hands and knees and sniffed at it.

"You can wear it, I'll walk you home so you can get changed." He looked anywhere but at her as he waited for her to take the jacket. She sniffed it for a second then snatched it away and stuck her arm through one of the holes but soon got it twisted and tangled in the fabric. She threw it aside with a huff and the boy laughed. The Seaking, coming to the water's edge to see what was happening, blubbed and spurted water out as if it too were laughing.

"Here, I'll help." he untwisted the jacket and held it up for her. Pikachu stood uneasily and shrugged on the coat. It was huge on her and hung almost to her knees. The boy buttoned it up and stepped back as she sniffed at the unfamiliar cover. Pikachu sank to her knees and smiled at the feeling of warmth the jacket bought.

"Uh, my name's Yukinari, but you can call me Yuki." He said scratching the back of his head.

"Ki?" She mimicked.

He pointed at himself and said "Yu-ki."

"Yu-ki? Yuki." She repeated it over and over. Human words were odd but she had to learn them if she wanted to find her brothers.

"Yeah, what's your name?" He asked.

 _What is a name?_ She wondered. He called himself Yuki even though he is human. She cocked her head slightly. _That must be name_. She thought for a second. No one in her family had names. They were unimportant. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"You won't tell me?" He asked confused. She shook her head again and winced. The cut above her eye throbbed. "Do you have a name?" He asked slowly. This girl obviously couldn't speak well. Maybe she didn't know the local language? He tried speaking as slowly and simply as he could think to. "What should I call you?" She shook her head again and he huffed.

"Yuki?" she said smiling.

He chuckled despite himself and shook his head. "We can't both be Yuki; it would be confusing." Maybe she had hurt her head more than he originally thought. She seemed like she understood him but just couldn't speak for herself.

Pikachu sighed and thought. She looked around but could find nothing to help her.

"Your hair is yellow and brown like a Richu or a Pikachu." He said as he studied her. She nodded wildly then winced. Pikachu! That was a human word too.

"Pikachu!" she squealed. He smiled uneasily at her excitement; she must be a radical trainer to have a reaction like that.

"Since you look like them how about Chu?" he suggested.

She shook her head. She didn't think she liked being referred to as Chu.

"Umm, mouse?" he tried.

She shook her head again.

He thought for a moment. "Rika? **RI** chu and Pi **KA** chu? It's both names sort of blended together." he smiled.

"Rika." She repeated. She liked the sound of that one. She nodded and said the name again.

He regarded her with interest. She obviously understood him, or at least most of what he was saying.

"Yeah, Yuki and Rika." He beamed. She was cute. He couldn't help but flirt a little, even if she was brain damaged.

"Seaking!" The Pokémon in the water bellowed suddenly.

"Oh, Rika, this is Seaking." Yuki chuckled. "I found him in this river not too long ago. I guess you could say he's my best friend." Pikachu, now known as Rika, carefully made her way down to the water. Her rib tensed but the pain was manageable. She crouched next to the water as the Seaking swam to the shore.

"Sea, Sea, King" _**what are you?**_ It asked. Rika started. Even as a human she could still speak with Pokémon! She sighed in relief.

"Pikachu." she said in her human voice. _**Can I touch you?**_ She asked in her Pokémon way.

"Seaking." _**amazing...**_

Rika stood slowly and carefully made her way to the water's edge. As she reached out her hand towards the fish, her arm hair rose and she was able to smell ozone as she reached to touch it.

"Pika?" A jolt of electricity shot from her fingers to the fish. She recoiled as her hand exploded with pain and the Seaking began thrashing about wildly.

"Hey!" Yuki yelled pushing Rika away. He ran in to the water and grabbed his friend. His eyes opened in shock when he saw what had caused the panic. A large singe mark was burned in to the Sneaking's side. "H-How did you do that?" he asked looking back at the girl.

Rika curled in to a tight ball, cradling her hand against her chest. Tears burned in her eyes as jolts of pain shot up her arm.

"Hey, what happened?" He asked kneeling beside her and putting his hand on her shoulder. A sharp burning pain traveled up his arm, throwing his backwards on to the bank. His head smashed the rocks and he went very still. Pain burst from her shoulder, making her flinch hard, but she ignored it when she saw Seaking spurting water on the unconscious Yuki. She made her way to him and lifted his head away from the water. His long brown hair was damp and stuck to his face, which was pale, but his cheeks were very red.

"Pika!" _**Hey!**_

"Pika! _"_ _ **I'm sorry!**_

"Pika Pi!" _**Wake up!**_

"Pika!" _**Please!**_

She looked around and saw the Seaking nudging Yuki's hand.

 _ **Help him! I don't know what to do!**_ She squeaked and Pika'd fervently at the water Pokémon.

 _ **We need to get him to town!**_ Seaking replied splashing back in to the water.

 _ **Is that where there are people?**_ She asked. The Seaking ignored her and instead began swimming upstream.

 _ **Follow me.**_ He demanded.

She took a step, and then another and was soon running forward but stopped and looked back at Yuki.

"Hey!" She called, _**we can't just leave him!**_

Seaking stopped and swam back to her, annoyed. She bounced back to him and hooked her arms underneath Yuki's and tried to lift him. Pain burned through her side so intensely she cried out and fell to her knees. She grunted in frustration and hit the ground. _I can't do anything in this body!_

 _ **We must get him to people Pikachu, humans don't last as long as Pokémon do when they are hurt.**_ Seaking seemed to be panicking but Rika didn't know what to do.

Yuki was breathing hard and his face was covered in sweat and contorted in pain.

 _ **I can't lift him, but we cannot leave him, here!**_ She cried.

 _ **Get his belt, the thing on his waist, and get a Pokeball. Find Charizard, she can help us.**_

"Pokéball?" she looked at the belt and saw the small bubbles hanging off small nest shaped clips. She fiddled with the clip but after a moment wrestled the belt from his waist and studied the clips. The Pokéballs sat in a neat row all around the belt, interrupted only by large pockets on either side of the Fastener.

She hesitated for only a second before grabbing one. "Pokéball?" She held it out to the Seaking who nodded. Looking it over, she made a face. The ball was no bigger than a berry and it shone in the evening light. A tiny silver button sat in the middle of the ball. Using her index finger, Rika pressed the button and jumped as the ball grew to fill her entire hand. She still couldn't see how a whole Pokémon could fit in such a small space.

She pressed the button again and shrieked as the ball shot out of her hand. A blindingly bright light exploded from it forcing Rika to shield her eyes. She blinked as the light died down and gasped as she saw the small Nidoran staring at her.

 _ **Who are you? Where's master? Seaking! What's happening?**_ He shot a sideways glance at the fish Pokémon and bristled at the girl.

 _ **That was the wrong one Pikachu, Hurry!**_

 _ **I'm sorry, there are so many!**_ She grabbed another ball and poked the button, throwing it before it could explode. A Pidgey Shrilled and pecked at the ground. She pulled a third ball then a forth and finally found the Charizard.

 _ **Get back in your balls,**_ Seaking instructed the other Pokémon, **we** ** _need to move fast!_**

The balls that littered the ground began to glow as the Pokémon were sucked back in to them. Rika stared in a mix of horror and amazement as she watched it all happen. The balls returned to their berry sized shape and Seaking instructed to Rika to pick them up as he explained the situation to Charizard. She clipped them in to the belt and strapped it on herself as Charizard picked up Yuki.

 _ **Fly ahead, we'll catch up.**_ Seaking Instructed. The Charizard nodded and lifted itself high in to the air before flying off with Yuki in its arms.

Rika wrapped the belt around herself twice and tightened it. She nodded to the Seaking and both made their way after their friend.

Charizard landed in front of the Poke-Center and made its way through the doors. Nurse Joy jumped as the creature entered the room but quickly realized what it was doing. Pushing the button on her earpiece she requested a gurney and the assistance of a human doctor.

"Good girl Charizard." Nurse Joy smiled and patted the Pokémon as Yuki was laid on a table. "We'll take good care of your Trainer." Charizard snuffed and looked back at the door as Rika burst in.

"Yuki?" She ran towards the Charizard and the nurse and looked down at Yuki.

"Yuki Yuki!" she cried. She looked desperately at the nurse who smiled gently.

"He'll be better in no time." Two large metal doors swung open and Rika cried out as Yuki was rolled through them.

 _ **Where is Seaking?**_ Charizard asked stopping Rika from running towards the doors.

The dragon started slightly when Rika stopped and grabbed the ball closest to her right hand and held it up. _**He told me to put him in here.**_

 _ **Good,**_ _Charizard was slightly taken back but decided to roll with it._ _ **Wait for Master to come out. Come and sit.**_ ****Charizard led her to a bench along the wall and pointed to one of the pockets on the belt. _ **Did you pick up my ball?**_ ****

 _ **Oh no, it's still there.**_ Rika said looking towards the door.

 _ **No matter, press the button of an empty ball so I can rest. Humans are much heavier than they appear.**_

Rika opened the pocket and saw it was full of the tiny Pokéballs. _**Do you really live in this?**_ She asked rolling it awkwardly between her fingers.

 _ **I mostly sleep when I am in there, I'm getting fairly old, but yes, it is my home.**_

Rika nodded and held the ball up. The movement caused the momentarily forgotten pain in her side to stab at her again and she winced hard.

"Excuse me miss," A Nurse Joy came up behind her and touched her shoulder, "Are you in pain?"

Pain? She recognized that word. Rika nodded and grabbed her side.

"Your rib?" Nurse Joy gently touched the sore spot then nodded. "I have just what you need." She walked to behind her desk and came back with a small bag. "Mix this in your drink and you'll feel good as new."

"Pika." Rika nodded and accepted the pouch.

 _ **What do I do with it?**_ She asked Charizard.

 _ **Did you not understand her? You drink it.**_

 _ **I don't speak human**_ _._ Rika blushed.

 _ **But you are human**_ _._

 _Rika stared at the package. Would any creature believe her if she told them the truth? Charizard didn't seem very surprised when Rika talked to her. Maybe…_

 _ **I…am Pikachu in a human body. I do not know how, but I do know my duty is to save my brothers I was told to do so by whatever force saved me.**_

Charizard nodded and looked over the child. _**I see. Well, stranger things have happened. I don't know as much as Seaking, but I can tell you when you are handed something you say Thank You.**_

"Th-?"

 _ **Th-ank- Yoo**_

"Thank you?" Rika said it a couple times remembering it. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She waved to Nurse Joy behind the counter and called "Thank you!" loudly. The nurse smiled and continued on with her work.

 _ **You learn fast. That's good**_ _._


	3. Chapter 3

The waiting room began to fill with light as Rika opened her eyes. Large windows surrounding the room gave her a perfect view of the sunrise. She smiled and stretched causing an empty Styrofoam cup that had held the medicine tea to tip over. She winced but no pain came. Rika gently touched her side and sighed in relief as she found it was no longer sore and her head didn't hurt at all.

"Good morning, I believe your friend is still sleeping but he is much better." Nurse Joy smiled and handed her a glass of tea.

"Thank you." Rika smiled and looked out the windows. Good Yuki was better. Maybe she could convince him to help her? He seemed friendly enough and having a human companion would benefit her more than doing this task alone. She yawned and took a sip of the bitter drink. Warmth radiated through her and she felt more awake as the sun rose higher and she drained the glass. She went through the words Charizard had taught her trying to remember how to use them.

"Yes." was when something was right. "No." was when it was wrong. "Thank you" when she was given something, "No thank you." when she didn't want it. "Brothers." was her family. "Help." when she needed something. There were others but she couldn't quite remember them. Those paired with the words she could understand would be enough.

 _Oh well, that should be enough... I can ask Seaking or Charizard if I have trouble._

"You're still here?" Yuki's voice startled her as he was suddenly standing near her shrugging on a bag she hadn't noticed before. A large bandage was strapped to the side of his head over his wound but it didn't look like there was any blood on it. He picked his belt up off of the floor and looped it on as Rika looked for a place to set the glass.

"Yes." she smiled. He had a small piece of food stuck to his face that Rika moved to brush away but Yuki flinched as she extended her hand towards him. Rika stood and hesitantly touched his face. No shock emitted from her hand. She sighed happily, brushing away the crumb, then began to walk towards the door.

"Hey, wait don't go home yet, I'm going to want my jacket back." He turned to the counter and addressed the nurse. "How much for the treatment?"

"Oh, I would never charge a trainer whose Pokémon love him so much. You must be very special for your Charizard to bring you in." She smiled brightly and waved as he turned.

"Well thank you very much." he smiled back and turned back to Rika who was stepping in and out of the range of the automatic doors. He shook his head and walked through them. "Coming?" he asked over his shoulder. She nodded and bounded through the door.

They walked along quietly for a moment then Yuki asked, "What happened? I remember grabbing your shoulder, then it's all blank." She shrugged and kept walking not exactly sure of what he was saying. The same thought kept filling her head. _If I focus hard enough and keep calm I don't shock. Shocking hurts so I have to be careful._

Yuki shook his head trying to remember but it was all a blur. Maybe he had gone too long without sleep and passed out? Perhaps he had just lost his balance? The nurse had said he hit his head and was soaking wet, and that Charizard had carried him in. He sighed not remembering a single thing and looked down at the young girl walking along beside him

"So, where is your house?"

"House?" Rika mimicked.

"Yeah, where you live, is it near here?" He eyed her suspiciously as she stared wide eyed at the buildings surrounding them. There was seriously something up with this girl.

"Grass." She said looking out in to a field between some houses.

"Almost all houses are built on grass." Yuki said, stretching his back. "Which one?"

Rika's ears twitched. She wasn't sure how to answer that. She stopped and rubbed her legs as the early autumn wind picked up around them.

"What, are you cold?" he asked stopping just in front of her.

"Yes." She tried pulling the jacket down her over her knees but she only managed to pull it off of her shoulders.

Yuki chuckled at her and pulled the sleeves back up on to her shoulders. "Yeah, me too. I figure when we get you home your family can get you dressed, or at least get you some pants." He turned away and put his hands in his pockets.

 _There must be something the matter with her brain._ He thought as he looked at her. She was really cute but also really weird. How does some damaged girl get out in to reeds naked without being noticed? Maybe he should have looked harder for her clothes. Hopefully her family wouldn't be too mad at the state he was returning her in.

"Either way, I'll make sure you get home to your family safe and sound." Yuki smiled, feeling like a hero.

Rika's ears twitched again when he said family. Yuki had started walking again and Rika beamed as she fell in to step beside him. "Brothers." she cooed.

Yuki looked down at her and jumped, not expecting anything to be in his face. He pushed aside the fuzzy black tipped ear and smiled. "Where'd you get the toy ears? "He reached to playfully tug them off her head but felt a small jolt of panic when she yelped. She rubbed her head and looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"What the?" Yuki grabbed her head and parted her hair where the headband should be. A sick feeling boiled in the pit of his stomach as he took a step back.

"Th-the ears..." He stammered.

Rika cocked her head and twitched her ears.

Yuki went pale. "The- They're real?" He looked around at people walking by them and panicked. "Uh, Ah, put them down!" he petted the ears flat so they lay like the rest of her hair again and looked to see if anyone had noticed.

"What the hell are you?" he asked still holding her ears down.

"Pi?" Rika didn't understand most of what Yuki had said and had no idea how to respond.

"Pi? What is Pi?" he asked. He began pacing in front of her.

"Ka?" she reached towards him but flinched as he stopped suddenly.

Realization hit him like a rock. Yuki looked at the discolored stripes along the back of her legs and her too blonde hair that ended in blackish tips, her forever blushing cheeks, her inability to speak, the odd noises she made and the way she looked at everything as if it were the first time, her excitement at the word...

He began pacing again and ran his hands over his eyes and through his hair.

"There is no way." He mumbled. He slapped his cheeks and blinked hard a couple times willing himself to wake up.

"I'm still in the hospital. I fell and cracked my head and now I'm dreaming. There is no way!" his pacing and panicked expression made her nervous.

"Yuki?" Rika touched his arm and he recoiled then looked down at her.

"You're a Pikachu?" He asked, quietly, through gritted teeth, still not believing that it wasn't all a dream.

She recognized that word!

"Pi-Ka-Chu!" she chirped happily.

"Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man." Yuki massaged his temples and took a deep breath trying to rationalize it any way he could. "How?" he took another deep breath and let it out slowly before letting his eyes fix on hers.

She shrugged and mimicked "How. How."

"You don't even know!" he grunted in exasperation, balling his fists in his hair and spun away from her. Rika shifted uncomfortably. She had almost no idea what he was saying and he seemed really upset.

"Charizard?"

"What?" He turned back sharply and looked down as she pointed at his pocket.

"Charizard help?"

"How will she help?" he asked popping the ball from its holder. The small ring around the button pulsed as the Pokémon inside anticipated being let out. "Help us out Charizard." he was unsure as the light exploded from the ball, but he didn't understand anything that was happening and Rika was already saying more than she had the previous night. Maybe the Pokémon did help her?

 _ **I told you Seaking knows more than me. Why must I be bothered?**_ Charizard grunted and swung her long neck as if stretching.

"Yukinari." Rika pointed.

 _ **What about him?**_

 _ **Help me figure out what he is saying.**_ ****She insisted.

 _ **What is he saying?**_

"How? Why?" Rika said.

"Are you two having a conversation?" Yuki asked.

 _ **How what?**_

 _ **Am I a human, how am I a human?**_

 _ **Do you know?**_

 _ **I don't... I remember feeling death's hand then waking up like this. I was told to rescue my brothers.**_

 _ **By whom?**_

Rika shrugged.

 _ **Then say 'I don't know, how'**_

"I don't know how." She repeated in her human voice.

"How is she teaching you to talk if you two are only grunting at one another?" Yuki asked perplexed. He was becoming more and more intrigued by the second.

 _ **I understand you**_ _._ Charizard said sadly.

"Understands." Rika said to Yuki. "Charizard understands."

 _ **How do I ask him to save my brothers?**_

 _ **I've taught you that already.**_ She said as she turned towards Yuki. He petted her neck and she nuzzled him as Rika asked.

"Help brothers?" _**Is that right?**_

 _Hmm_ Charizard nodded as she happily ruffled Yuki's long hair with her snout.

"Please?" She continued.

"Your brothers? Is that why you are like this? Because your family's in danger?"

"Yes!" Rika smiled and grabbed his arm but let go quickly, remembering how he had flinched away from her a moment ago.

A quick flash of pity filled his vision but was soon gone as he asked. "You're just as confused as I am... Do you remember what happened?"

 _ **Where are they?**_ Charizard asked.

 _ **A human man and woman took them. They were hunting for our tails.**_

 _ **It sounds like the Rockets.**_

"Rockets?"

"What are you two chattering about? Yuki asked standing uncomfortably.

"Rockets took brothers." Rika said. A burning sensation filled her eyes but she blinked it away. "Please help?"

"What can I do? We can't even hardly communicate." He looked almost distressed as he said it, but he knew it would be a lost cause. "The Rockets have a thousand hide outs, there's no way we could even find them."

 _ **Try!**_ Charizard growled, startling Yuki.

"Try?" Rika repeated. The words were coming more easily to her the more she used them. Human was easy once you heard it enough.

Yuki ran his hand through his hair again and sighed. Both Charizard and Rika looked at him with pleading eyes that were impossible for anyone to say no to. "Alright. First things first though." he said playfully pushing Charizard's face away from his own.

"Pika?"

"We need to get you some clothes."


	4. Chapter 4

They roamed the stores and shops for a while. Yuki had never bought clothes for anyone other than himself and didn't even know where to start with this girl.

"Do you know your size, or favorite color?" He tried asking.

"Color?" Rika asked.

"Umm, yeah, like..." He looked around hoping to see something that would help him explain. Coming up short, he just pointed to things. "The grass, it's green. And the sky, it's blue. Those are colors." he drooped a little at her confused expression but when she grabbed his shirt and said, "Color?"

"My shirt? It's green." he smiled. He had actually taught her something.

"Grass green." She insisted.

"Yeah, but this is green too. It's a different shade of green." in all honesty it was closer to teal or even blue but to him it was pretty green.

"Different shade?" She said it quietly as if thinking hard about it.

"Yeah, there are lots of shades of every color. I like the shades of green."

"Your favorite color?" She said. He was surprised she had made the connection so fast.

"Yeah, I guess green is my favorite color."

Yuki saw a mother and daughter walk in to a girly looking store and smiled. "I bet we can find you clothes there." He pointed and began walking towards the brightly decorated storefront. Going inside was like being smacked with a giant ball of perfume. Frilly and glitter covered shirts and dresses covered the walls and an odd song played over the speakers.

"Ka-Pi" Rika grunted softly.

"A little overwhelming, isn't it?" Yuki laughed nervously and walked along the isle with Rika tailing close behind.

"Can I help you find anything sir?" Yuki jumped as an employee with too much makeup on blocked his path.

"Uh, no, just browsing I think." He mumbled.

"The clothing in your size would be over there." She smiled forcefully pointing towards the far wall.

Yuki stifled a laugh as he pulled Rika out from behind him. "I'm actually buying for her."

"Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry." He couldn't tell if she was blushing but she was acting as if she was. "Hello sweetie, do you see anything you like?"

Rika flinched as the person got too close. Her bright orange hair and overly made-up eyes made Rika feel nervous. Instead of answering she looked around and shook her head.

"Oh dear. Hmm, well, what is your favorite material? Silk? Satin? Cotton? What colors do you like?" The woman asked, still too close for comfort.

That question again! Rika smiled knowing how to answer "Green." Rika looked up at Yuki. "Yuki's favorite is Green."

"Rika, just because it's my favorite-"

"Oh we have a whole line of green things. They just came in for the spring season!" The woman clapped. She led them through the store and stopped at a door marked "Over Stock" The lady opened it and pulled out a wheeled rack filled with a variety of green shirts and dresses. "Does any of this interest you?" She asked stepping back.

"If you don't mind, we'll just look for a moment." Yuki said in a slightly firmer tone. Rika touched the fabrics while the lady smiled her forced smile and left them. She grabbed a long-sleeved leaf green shirt and pulled it off the hanger.

"What, do you like that one?" Yuki asked grabbing it from her. It looked like it would fit but he wasn't sure. "Let's find a couple more and some pants so we can get going." He said.

"Pants?" She smiled. Yuki pointed at his pants and then at her legs.

"Yeah, they keep your legs warm." he draped the shirt over his arm and looked through the rack. He noticed Rika was moving away from him and turned to catch up with her.

Rika stared in awe at the bright yellow sweater dress that hung in front of her. It was displayed with a pair of black tights and a black backpack.

"Favorite color." She said as Yuki stood beside her.

He chuckled and grabbed a copy of the dress that was hanging. "I guess it makes sense for a Pikachu to love yellow."

"Yellow. Rika's favorite color?" She said fingering the fabric.

"Yeah, but you say, 'It's _my_ favorite.'"

"Yuki's Favorite?" She tried.

"No," He corrected. "My favorite is green. Your favorite is yellow."

"Your favorite yellow." Rika said with confidence.

"Yeah, we'll work on that more later." Yuki smiled and picked up a pair of the tights neatly folded on the table in front of the display.

"Do you like these too?" he asked.

"Pi" she nodded.

They browsed around not really finding anything more, and when he finally had a small arm full of different tops and bottoms and, he blushed, under clothes, they made their way to the dressing room. It took a few tries to get the sizes right but, with the outfits picked and paid for, they were finally able to leave. Yuki pulled the tags off the slim black back pack Rika had found and rolled up the clothes, putting them inside it.

"Here, even if you are a girl, you're gonna have to carry your own weight." He said helping her shrug on the bag.

"I got you this too, so it doesn't matter if your ears are up." he reached in the shopping bag and pulled out a black head band and put it on her head. "They'll look like fake ears."

"Pi?" she grabbed at it not liking the way it squeezed her scalp.

"You don't like it?" He asked.

She readjusted it and stuck her ears up. The band rubbed them a little but Yuki looked like he really wanted her to wear it. Rika twitched her ears happily and held the straps of the pack.

"Good, it looks good on you." He smiled, blushing slightly, and pitched the now empty bag in a garbage bin along the road. He looked doubtfully at her bare feet.

"Eventually we need to find you shoes." he said.

"No." she shook her head. The weird things humans wore on their feet made her uncomfortable. They pinched and rubbed her ankles and she couldn't feel the ground with them on. She had denied every pair they had tried at the store.

"A lot of places won't let you in without shoes." Yuki insisted. Rika just shrugged. Yuki sighed and looked up. "Oh yeah, come on!" he grabbed her hand and led her to a store that was less overwhelming than the clothes store. Belts and bags lined the walls and there were glass cases full of Pokéballs and drink mixes (like what the nurse had given her) and other things Rika didn't recognize.

"This is a supply store, The Poke-Mart. I need more Pokéballs and you need a supply belt." Yuki explained.

Yuki talked to the man behind the counter, trading things and buying what he couldn't trade for. He picked a belt for Rika with four large pockets and only a few Pokeball clips.

"I don't know how you feel about catching Pokémon, being one and all, but I figure you can carry the medicines or something." Yuki smiled as he filled the pockets with different drinks and powders. He filled his own bag and pockets with balls and food before saying his thanks and goodbyes.

"Brothers?" Rika asked adjusting the belt around her waist as they exited the store.

"Yeah, now that we're all stocked up we can start asking around. Who knows how long it could take." He looked around to see if there was anyone who could possibly know where the closest Rocket hide out was.

"I don't like the Rockets." a little girl told them. "I don't even try to pay them any attention.

"This town is so big; any one could be any one." A passing man told them.

"I've not seen rockets or any cool clothes!" a young boy exclaimed. "Bummer too, I love wearing shorts!"

"Rockets in this town? Pish-posh, this is a nice community." A lot of people said the same thing over and over. Yuki sighed. At this rate, he was never going to get back to his quest. He looked at Rika who was talking to an elderly lady just a few yards away from him.

"I saw a couple, a man and woman, get in to a van. They looked very suspicious." the woman said.

"That's perfect!" Yuki exclaimed, finally happy to get a lead. "Do you know which way they went?"

"I think north, but my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be ya know." She said apologetically.

"No, that's fine, anything to help us find them is good information." Yuki smiled brightly. Good, the north is the direction he was heading any way. He had taken the detour to his home town for sentimental reasons.

His shoulders slouched with the weight of the responsibility he had suddenly taken on. This random, impossible girl was his responsibility now. She was old enough looking to care for herself, she had to be at least sixteen, not far off from Yuki's eighteen but she acted so much younger, so much more vulnerable than any teenager he'd ever met before.

"Come on Rika, I want to be closer to the edge of town before nightfall." Yuki wasn't sure why but he felt it was his responsibility to make sure Rika stayed safe and got her brothers back. It was true that she had helped in saving his life, but it was most likely her strange power that had injured him in the first place. He touched the bandage on his head and winced. The skin was still scraped and tender, but at least the pain had stopped. Rika bounded up behind him, walking with bouncy steps as they headed on a road leading towards the northern part of town.

Yuki looked around eagerly as they made their way out of town and towards the fields that separated the cities. He took in the smell of the open air and the woodsy smell from the trees bordering the fields.

"There has to be some new ones around here." he said happily, shielding his eyes from the sun. Pidgey flew ahead of them and scouted the area. He swiped one way then another as if looking for something.

 _What are they doing?_ She wondered. "New ones?" she asked mimicking.

"Yeah, there are usually a bunch in big grass fields like this." He was getting excited, "There's usually more in taller grass or caves, but I was hoping we'd at least see a couple." he huffed and looked up at the bird Pokémon. It seemed like Yuki was half talking to himself but Rika couldn't make any sense of what he was talking about.

She walked along a bit behind Yuki and looked over the bushes and plants growing up from the ground. She smiled up at the sun, enjoying the warmth of it on her skin and the feel of the cool grass on her feet. Bending down, Rika plucked a berry off of a small plant and popped it in her mouth. The sweet juice coated her tongue and made her mouth water. She filled Yuki's coat pocket with them and rushed to catch up with her companion.

Yuki stood in the middle of the field shielding his eyes from the early afternoon sun. He held out his arm and Pidgey landed softly on his hand. He nuzzled the bird and fed it something out of a pocket on his belt and then launched the Pokémon high in to the sky.

Rika jumped as something suddenly hit her leg. Turning, she saw a long string of web stuck to her calf. She followed the line up in to a tree and saw a Caterpie high in the branches with a string of cocooning silk hanging from its mouth.

"Yuki!" she grunted, pulling at the web. She tugged and pulled but found herself more and more stuck. Yuki looked back at her and laughed as she struggled to un-stick herself. Twigs and leaves stuck to the girl as she plopped down and the Caterpie spit more silk out on to her.

"I've got it Rika." Yuki popped the button on his belt and pulled out a ball. A second later, Seaking began flopping around before regaining its wits and steadying its self. Yuki pointed and the Seaking blasted the caterpillar Pokémon with a jet of water. It fell from the tree and flopped around, stunned for a second, before turning and shooting a web at the fish. Seaking shot another jet of water and dodged the string attack. Pidgey swooped overhead and dived at the Caterpie as it worked its way back to the tree. Pidgey hit it full force, knocking it back a few feet.

"Good boy Pidgey!" Yuki ran closer to the fight and pulled out an empty ball. He aimed it at the wounded Pokémon and said, "Sorry little guy, I'll heal ya at the next center."

Seaking sprayed down Rika, melting the web off of her, but panicked as Rika dashed at Yuki.

"No!" She screamed, knocking the ball from Yuki's hand. "Stop Stop!"

"What the hell?" He jerked his arm away from her and reached for another ball. The Caterpie shot silk at him but Pidgey flew in to it so it didn't hit Yuki.

 _ **Leave me alone!**_ The Caterpie demanded, getting back on to its feet. Even for a small bug, it had a demanding aura about it that made Rika nervous.

 _ **I'm sorry!**_ Rika ran to it and covered the caterpillar, blocking it from Yuki's Pokeball.

"Rika! What are you doing? I'm trying to catch it!" Rika flinched as the frightened bug bit her. Yuki walked with purpose and pulled her out of the way and hit the button on the ball. The light came out and enveloped the bug. Rika tried to snatch the ball from his hand but he held it just out of her reach.

"Yuki, No!" She grunted, jumping for it. The ball shook and jerked in his hand, making it tough to hold. She jumped for it again but he pulled it out of her way, looking relieved as the ring around the button dimmed.

"Rika, I'm not hurting him, see?" Yuki took a step back from her and held the ball out. The Caterpie formed on the grass and stood obediently as if awaiting an order.

 _ **He let you out! Run while you can!**_ Rika pikaed frantically.

 _ **Why would I run from him?**_ The Caterpie stared at her with bright joy filled eyes, leaving her dumbfounded. **_I got claimed, I get to live with a trainer now_** _!_ _ **He'd better not keep me in there all the time though!**_ Yuki patted the bug on the head and pulled his bag off of his back. He pulled out a notebook and set to work on a rough sketch of the Pokémon and took a foot print. He stood and made a few simple demands "String shot, Tackle, Leer" some of which the Caterpie did and others that it just stood looking confused. Yuki checked the Pokémon's mouth and jotted the word 'poison?' in his book.

After he scribbled down a few more notes, he leaned down and lifted it, checking its weight. "Somewhere around 6 pounds... I'll have to weigh and measure you at the next Poke Center." He mumbled under his breath. "A quick guess should be good for now though." He shoved the notebook in the bag and stood, shouldering the pack and returning the Caterpie to his ball.

"What?" Rika was seriously confused.

Yuki looked at her and smiled. "I'm gathering information on Pokémon. I'm hoping to one day make an entire guide on them." He explained.

"Guide?" Rika cocked her head. She had seen another picture of a Pokémon as he was flipping through the pages, but she couldn't read anything it had said.

"Yeah, to help other trainers understand things about their Pokémon, or learn more about the Pokémon they come across."

She thought for a moment. "To understand Pokémon..." OK, that made sense but why hadn't Caterpie run? He didn't want to be in the ball and then suddenly he didn't care. In fact, he almost seemed happy.

She pulled an empty ball from the pocket on the coat and studied it for a moment. "Caterpie claimed?" She tried.

"What do you mean? Is that what he said?" Yuki asked.

She searched her brain for other words but couldn't think of how to say it. "Caterpie run, then no run Pokeball" man did that make any sense? She rubbed her head and tried again. "Scared? Caterpie scared then Pokeball. Caterpie no scared. Why?"

Yuki's eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh! Ok, 'why didn't he run away after I caught him?'" Rika nodded, happy he had put it together for her.

 _Yuki caught Caterpie in the Pokeball._ She thought to herself. _Pokéballs catch Pokémon._

"When a trainer catches and claims a Pokémon, that Pokémon becomes reliant on them. It's a bond that is never truly broken until the Pokémon or human dies." He smiled as she nodded. Good she was understanding him more. "A lot of people don't understand the seriousness of that bond and end up catching any Pokémon they see and neglecting the ones they have. It's not good for the Pokémon because they don't get the interaction to fulfill the need that comes with that bond." He stopped again and made sure Rika was keeping up. She looked slightly confused but after a moment of thought, nodded again, signaling him to go on.

"I hope someday to contribute to making a complete guide, like I've explained, and train kids on the proper care of their Pokémon so that hopefully the number of Team Rockets and Pokémon hoarders will deplete and eventually vanish so that humans and Pokémon can coexist happily."

Rika nodded. That was a lot of information to take in but she thought she understood the gist of it. She stood quietly, letting it all soak in for a moment.

"They don't hurt?" she said slowly.

"In the Pokéballs? No, not at all. They live in... Well I guess... from what I've studied, it is like a dreamscape, but the Pokémon is completely conscious, though they are resting. It's somewhat hard to explain, but the world inside of the ball is like a playground for Pokémon. They can pretty much do anything they want while there." He stopped and took a deep breath. He always got excited when talking about Poke-Science. He had been studying the creatures since he had been old enough to read. One day he was going to be the first Pokémon Master!

Seaking made a noise, drawing Yuki out of his thoughts. The fish blubbed happily, looking rather pleased with himself at the soaking wet bird lying half-conscious next to him.

"Hey, man, I told you two to get along." Yuki chuckled and returned the Seaking to his ball. Rika picked up the Pidgey and patted its head.

 _ **Here**_ _._ She fished some of the berries out of her pocket and let the Pidgey have them before Yuki called its attention. Pidgey landed on his arm and fluffed its feathers as he sprayed it down with a potion. "Still have it in ya to go on?" he asked the bird.

"Piii!" It chirped, fluffing itself up again. Yuki smiled and flung his arm up, launching the bird up in to the air.

"Atta boy!" Yuki called, looking after Pidgey's shadow as it crossed the field. He glanced back over his shoulder at the amazed Rika staring in to the sky. Her dark eyes, lit to a cognac brown in the afternoon sun, shone in wonder as the Pidgey circled the area.

"Come on Rika, it looks like he found something else!" Yuki called to her before he started jogging towards the spot Pidgey circled.

Rika took a step then turned as a twig cracked behind her. A tiny Caterpie wiggled in the grass before turning and disappearing in the tall blades.

Rika's heart panged. He had family. The Caterpie had a family that would never see him again. She caught up to Yuki and stopped him by grabbing his shirt. He turned around and flinched as he saw her eyes misting.

"What's wrong Rika?" he asked. Worry deepened his already dark green eyes as he stared in to hers, awaiting an answer.

"Family. Caterpie family. They... miss Caterpie?" She ran he hand along her eyes. Was Yuki just as bad as the people who had taken her brothers? No, there was no way.

"Pokémon that are with trainers live longer than the ones that stay in the wild their whole lives..." he stopped and thought for a moment. "I'd like to think that the family is happy that they are off to live a long happy life." He smiled at his answer and grabbed Rika's hand.

"Happy?" She knew the word but wasn't sure if it was right. She wasn't happy that her brothers were gone. She was worried and felt like crying, even when she smiled. She missed them. But then again, she did have older siblings that had gone off on their own, so maybe it would be a good thing if they got caught by someone kind like Yuki?

"Come on, Pidgey is moving towards the woods fast, we don't want to lose whatever he's tailing." Yuki pulled her along towards where Pidgey was still circling, closer to the ground now. Her ears twitches and she smiled as Yuki's eyes lit up. This was the first time she had seen him truly excited and not embarrassed or angry or just indifferent since they met. She grinned and sprinted forward as fast as she could, pulling Yuki along, smiling all the way, though her leg was sore from the Caterpie bite, making her want to limp as she ran. Ignoring the pain, Rika dashed ahead and looked back at her smiling companion. Stopping, she shifted her weight to her good leg, the bite throbbed but she had been bitten by lots of things before so she knew it would stop eventually.

If she were still a Pokémon she could get one of her brothers to carry her until the pain stopped. She looked at Yuki as he ran past and waved at the Pidgey circling an Ekens that was carting a Rattata sized lump in its belly through the grass. She smiled as the bird landed on his arm then nodded before casting up small tornadoes around the snake.  
 _Perhaps I could have my own Pokémon friend like Yuki?_ She thought to herself. Yuki seemed to love his friends and they him. They provided him with solace and helped him in times of trouble. All she had ever had was her family and the human children that would feed and play with them. She didn't really associate with the other Pokémon in the wild. She didn't make any kind of friendly connections like Yuki did. She longed for that on some level, but she just didn't feel right about putting the creatures in the little berry sized homes. Rika sighed at her indecision and stood back as Yuki Pulled out an empty ball.  
Things went on like that for a while, Yuki finding, fighting, capturing and documenting the different Pokémon. He would have her ask questions, and then excitedly scribble any answers she was able to provide. She noticed he would even catch the same species but different genders or colors and write them down as a whole new entry. Rika also noticed, after a short time, that for every few he caught, only one or two actually stayed with him.

"Connection?" she inquired.

"I'm releasing the ones I can't keep after I get their information." He explained. "I sever the connection by not claiming them." He showed her the small ring on the Pokeball. "If this flashes three times it means I've caught the Pokémon. I don't actually claim it until I let it out and press the center button. Until then it just helps to have them calmed down." Rika scratched the back of her head. She liked the thought of catching Pokémon less and less the more she learned about it. Getting their hopes up just to let them down for the sake of drawing a picture of them? It was cruel. By the time they had stopped for the night and Yuki had set up his tent, she was so exhausted that she fell in to a deep dream crazed sleep before her eyes had fully closed.


	5. Chapter 5

Yuki woke with a start. His side hurt and looking down, he saw Rika's hand clutching his shirt. Her face was momentarily contorted in pain and he jumped as he received a small shock. Her face softened as dim morning light began warming the small space they shared. Yuki pulled the blanket up over Rika's bare shoulder as she shivered. He blushed and chuckled lightly remembering the tantrum she had thrown when he tried to get her to at least put a shirt on to sleep. She had refused and curled up like a kitten under the blankets and was asleep before he could argue anymore. He turned to face her and pushed her hair out of her face. Her ears were down but they twitched slightly as she dreamed. He studied her face and frowned when he saw her flinch before another look of pain furrowed her eyebrows. A light sweat had broken out on her forehead and her cheek were redder than usual.  
"Rika?" Yuki cooed her name softly, not wanting to startle her out of sleep. Concerned about the looks of pain on her delicate face, he gently stroked her hair, hoping to calm whatever nightmare she may be having. Her ears shot up, throwing chunks of hair over her cheek and when Yuki went to move them he gasped. Her face was pale and her cheeks were hot and when his fingers brushed her forehead, he panicked. She was burning up.  
"Rika?" he shook her softly. "Rika wake up." He shook her harder but still she wouldn't open her eyes. Panic griped at his heart as he noted all of her symptoms. "Oh no." He scrambled for his belt and pulled open the pockets. "Oh man, please no!" he dug through the medicine pouch on his belt then Rika's, and finally dumped out his backpack hoping to find an antidote. "When did you even get sick?" he mumbled, looking at the different labels on the bottles that scattered. Yuki tried to think back. The only time Rika had come in to direct contact with a possibly poisonous Pokémon was Caterpie. He murmured a curse under his breath. She had been fine yesterday! Why would she just now be showing signs of poison? He always packed Antidotes, they were one of the few medicines that worked on both Pokémon and humans so there is no way he would have left town without them!  
He raked his hand through his hair and began packing the stuff back in the belt and grabbed his coat that Rika had discarded in the corner of the tent the night before. He slipped it on and noticed one pocket was heavier than the others. He reached in and pulled out a small handful of berries. "Dammit!" Those were poisonous to humans too! He threw them on the ground and scooped up Rika, wrapping the blanket around her. He worked his way out of the tent and started running full force but cried out and fell to his knees as Rika let out another wave of electricity.  
"Gah! How am I going to get anywhere like this?" He looked down at the girl in his arms. She was panting now and she had broken out in a full dripping sweat. Small bursts of electricity came at irregular intervals and were beginning to make Yuki's arms feel numb.

Carefully sitting her down, he stood and looked in to the distance either way. He could see the dim silhouette of the city they had just come from in the distance. It wasn't that far away, but... He looked back towards the tent and an idea struck him.

"You're still part Pokémon, right?" Flicking open the tent flap, he pulled out an empty ball, pressed the button to enlarge it, and pointed it at the girl.

"Brothers?" Rika chased the two lightning fast balls of fur around another corner. She whipped her head from side to side and bolted off again as she caught sight of the tip of one of their tails. She struggled to keep up, her long human legs seemed awkward and unbalanced as she sprinted through the narrow passage ways of a building she didn't remember going to. The walls were plain and white and so tall she couldn't see the ceiling. Just a faded grey color that seemed to undulate above her. She wasn't sure where she was, but she knew that the Pikachus she was chasing were her brothers.

"Stop!" She called out. Her human voice sounded slightly distorted as she called out but she couldn't place what was wrong with it. The tiny mice froze and slowly turned towards her as she approached. Her body jolting as she saw their faces.

Neither had eyes and their skin was dripping off of their face in chunks. She tried to stop but slipped on something on the hard-tiled floor and fell on to her back. The rotting Pikachus ran towards her as if happy to see her. Panicking, she looked down at what she had slipped on. Disgust turned her stomach as her brothers disjointed, rotting tails tangled themselves around her ankles. The Pikachus were getting closer and closer and they smiled, causing more of their cheeks to droop and fall. She screamed and tried to back away, but it was like she was stuck to the spot.

The temperature in the room seemed to be rising higher and higher as the two Pikachus got closer. The sound of their claws on the hard floor invaded her ears and gained volume until it was almost deafening.

"Stay away!" she screamed.

"Sister?" The brothers squeaked in a disturbingly human voice. "Come," They said in unison. "Come with us." they began grabbing at her and ripping at her hair, pulling it in all different directions.

"No!" She felt electricity dance on her skin and the hairs on her arms rise. Tiny sparks flew from her cheeks as she fought against the Pokémon.

"Rika." They cooed. "Rika. Rika. Rika!" They chanted her name over and over again, driving her crazy. She smashed her hands against her ears, squeezed her eyes shut, and screamed.

All of the noise in the room stopped as every bit of electricity she was holding on to dispelled. It danced along the floor and walls in tiny waves of energy.

Noticing the silence, she opened her eyes and moved her hands away from her head slowly. The two Pikachus stood on either side of a shadowy figure with bright purple cat-like eyes. It hovered above the ground and looked down at her.

"I-It's you!" She cried out. This was the same figure that had brought her back to life.

"Do you try to die?" It asked. Its voice echoed all around her as it made a snapping noise as if it had fingers. The white walls and floors began to fall away until they were in a void of nothingness. Darkness surrounded them but Rika could see clearly as if standing in a bright field.

"Huh?" She moved to stand as the tails dissolved with the rest of the scene. "Why would I try to die when I've been given such an important task?" She was using human words and could understand them but even she wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Saving my family is my task... but is it so important?" The thought came to her suddenly and she looked up at the shadow.

"This is the second time I have come to your dying consciousness. However, I cannot save you this time. My powers are at their peak as it is." It blinked slowly. "I cannot physically help you anymore."

"But I'm not-"

"Oh man, please work." She heard Yuki's voice echo through the space. Gasping, Shadow turned and looked up over Rika's shoulder. She followed its gaze and squeaked. Yuki stood in a blurry image above her. He stood with his head turned away and had a Pokeball pointed at her.

"Yuki?" She reached towards the cloudy image floating just out of her reach.

"NO!" Shadow suddenly shot forward in to the image causing it to shatter like a giant mirror. She heard Yuki scream just as a blinding light stole away her vision. She shielded her eyes from the light and tried to call out for him but an overwhelming wave of pure agony silenced her. She looked down at her arms, half expecting to see the skin being ripped away. Never in her life had Rika felt something this painful.

"Rika!" She heard Yuki's voice but couldn't see him through the river of tears pouring from her eyes. When had she started crying? It hurt but it also made her feel numb. The strange combination of feeling and lack thereof made her dizzy. It was more like she should feel the pain but since she didn't her mind created a phantom pain just under her flesh.

Yuki screamed and fell back as a lightning bolt shot out of Rika's head and tore through his shoulder.

"Idiot!" The voice came from a dark smoky creature that coiled and rolled in on its self until it was a small tight ball of darkness. Yuki stared in shock as two purplish, cat-like, eyes blinked from the darkness and stared angrily at him.  
Rika's scream pierced through the air as the light from the Pokeball enveloped her. Yuki scrambled to stand but was knocked back as the shadowy creature dove at the Pokeball, smashing it closed.

Yuki stood to stand as her screaming ceased and moved towards her. "Oh my god, Rika!" Yuki made his way to her but shadow stopped him.

"Are you trying to kill her?" Shadow asked. Yuki's ears popped.

"What the hell are you?" Yuki gasped "A Pokémon? How can you-" Yuki blinked away his surprise and stared at the undulating mass of darkness in front of him. The creature hadn't actually talked. Yuki had heard the voice in his head. "What do you mean kill her? I'm trying to save her!" Yuki stood tall against the figure.

"These things!" Shadow angrily swatted at a ball on Yuki's waist, "These things can never be used on her. She is so fragile; these things will rip her apart!"

Yuki's stomach dropped. "W-what?" He regained his wits and stood his ground. "Well how was I supposed to know that? I got thrown in to this thing blind and there has been some…what are you? A genie? A Pokémon? Come on, I promise this isn't the weirdest part of helping her so far so just tell me how to help her!" He breathed heavily as adrenaline pumped through him. A slowly intensifying pain was causing his shoulder to throb but he continued to stare down the mass.

The shadow hovered just over Rika and seemed to lose some of its density. The purple slits turned back to him as the voice continued.

"I want to answer your questions, I will, in time, but for now, she is priority." The shadow made a noise like a sigh. "A Pikachu body will only produce so much material for a new body." It continued, "And certainly not enough for an entire human." The shadow spread down around Rika making it seem like she was glowing softly.

Yuki tried to focus on the shadow but a wave of pain ripped through his shoulder. "What is she?" He gritted, making the connection. This was the mysterious force that had saved her. "How is she like this?" Yuki swayed slightly with the rush of adrenaline wearing off he was becoming more aware of how much pain he was in. His shoulder burned where the bolt had struck him and he could feel a warm wetness spreading throughout the back of his shirt as blood leaked from the wound.

"Me. I have seen what this girl becomes a part of, and to make it happen I am lending her my energy, but it is running out much faster than I originally expected."

"What's going to happen to her?" Yuki asked. He walked to Rika and knelt by her side. Her ears twitched and a tiny spark jumped from her to him. "What happens when your energy runs out?" He asked again.

"I just hope that by the time that happens, she has completed the goal fate has set for her." Shadow melted away from her and spun in to a ball again.

"If she's so unstable why did you make her a human? Why not another Pikachu or something smaller even?" Yuki felt tears prick his eyes as he looked down at the girl.

"Because that's not how it was supposed to happen." It replied ominously.

"What does that even mean?!" Yuki yelled up at the mass. "Are you saying she is destined to die?"

"No, she is -"The shadow's head shot up suddenly and its blurred cat like eyes focused on the sky.

Yuki looked up but just as he did, Rika began to jerk and twitch violently.

"Idiot." The shadow whispered again. It dove at Rika just as the spasms stopped. Rika began coughing hard, blood spraying from her mouth.

"Rika?" Yuki lifted her in to a sitting position and hung her head forward. "Rika I'm sorry!" He hugged her from behind when she started coughing again. She coughed harder then stopped. Yuki looked at her expectantly but cried out in anguish when he realized she wasn't breathing. "No, no!" He laid her down but as soon as her head touched the grass, ear shredding shrieks escaped from her mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

Yuki gathered her up and tried to calm her as her screams gained volume. "Rika it's OK, I'm here, calm down! I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry!"

The dark nothingness that was surrounding her suddenly brightened and she was no longer standing alone.

Yuki cradled her in his arms, crying and apologizing over and over. It took her a moment to realize she was holding her breath. Gasping in the fresh air, she cringed. Her stomach hurt and she was too hot and her skin burned and itched all over.

"Yuki?" Her throat felt raspy and raw as she whispered his name.

"Rika?" He pulled his face away looked at her in shock. "Rika! You're alright!" He hugged her tight against him and her back to arm's length, he studied her tear streaked face. "You're really ok! Oh man, I thought I killed you! Oh man!" The deep feeling of obligation to her stabbed at him as his heart steadied. He ran his hands through his hair and sat back.

"Ow." Rika cringed and held her stomach. "I hurt" she cringed again.

"Oh yeah!" Yuki stood and scooped her up ignoring the intense pain in his arm, "Try not to shock me OK?" She nodded and blinked hard. Her head felt fuzzy and all she wanted to do was sleep. Yuki nodded and sprinted across the field, back to the town they had come from. Rika looked up at his face. He smiled uneasily and his eyes showed pain "You're gonna be OK Rika, I promise." He whispered.

Nurse Joy clicked away on her keyboard entering in the logs she had been given. The sun had just begun to rise when the bell above the door tinkled. Smiling brightly, she looked up to exclaim

"Welcome to Vermilion City Poke-Center!"

But was cut off when she saw her customer. The young man prior had his companion draped over his shoulder while his free arm hung limply at his side. Joy cried out as he took two steps through the door then, just as he began to say something, swayed and collapsed.

"I've never seen a creature like this in my entire life. There aren't many books, but something that speaks perfect English? That has to be documented somewhere." Yuki ran his hand through his hair as Nurse Joy wrapped more bandage around the pancake sized burn just under his collar bone. It had been two days since he had blacked out but now that he was awake, he felt fine. Even the pain in his arm was almost gone. Rika still had not woken up, however, but the nurse had explained that she was fine and just needed rest.  
"Perhaps it was a Ditto and was mimicking you." She said thoughtlessly.  
"No it was more like a ghastly or something. "  
"My, that is strange." Nurse joy said putting her hand to her face.  
Yuki sighed. He sounded crazy. He knew he did. Coming in here with a wounded girl he knew nothing about and, he himself burned by some ghost type Pokémon... Nurse Joy handed him his shirt and smiled.  
"I put both Pokémon and Human grade medicines in your pack. I understand cutting corners on spending money but you should always be prepared." She smiled but it wasn't warm.  
Yuki flinched and then blushed.  
"With an extra mouth to feed I didn't want to run out of money too fast."  
"There are plenty of plants, berries, and herbs every beginning Pokémon trainer should be able to find while you're traveling." Nurse Joy reached for a thin booklet on a short bookshelf near her desk.  
"This should be helpful." Her warm smile returned as he took the book and flipped through it.  
"This is great." He smiled warmly and scanned a few pages. He had definitely seen some of these but never bothered to pick them up.  
"I hope it serves you well. And you are welcome to stay until your friend is better." She said sitting at the desk.  
"Thank you very much, but umm, how much do I owe you this time?"  
"My, I suppose the centers can't offer free treatment to the same customer twice in one week."  
Yuki laughed and scratched the back of his head. They worked out a price and Nurse Joy waved good bye as Yuki headed back towards the tent. Charizard lay in the grass by the open door and sat bolt upright as he approached. She snuffed hard, ruffling his hair and nuzzled him roughly. "Sorry girl." He said hugging her. "I didn't plan on being gone that long." Charizard rolled her eyes and picked up Yuki's belt in her mouth. "Thanks for keeping all this safe for me." He smiled as he packed his and Rika's things away before climbing in the tent and lying down.  
 _'I'll go in the morning and pick her up then we can head out again'_ he yawned. It had been a long couple of days and an electro-therapy free, good night's sleep is exactly what he needed.

"Yuki!" Rika's voice cut through his dream scape and forced his eyes open. She sat over him pulling his eye open with her small fingers. "Yuki?" she brought her face close to his and he smiled as she huffed. He batted away her hand and sat up, yawning and stretching as he did.

"How'd you know to find me out here?" When he opened his eyes again, he caught Rika looking at him thoughtfully. Without answering him, she extended her hand and lightly touched the bandage on Yuki's otherwise bare chest. "Hurt?" Her eyebrows furrowed like she was focusing hard. Yuki cupped her hand in his against his bandage, startling her, then smiled.

"I'm not hurt, it's not bad." He reached for his shirt and threw it over his head, wincing as he raised his left arm. His eyes met Rika's again and he drooped a little at the look of concern in her face.

 _Why are you so cute?_ He shook his head, startled at his own thought. "Come on, we've got some ground to make up." He crawled out of his tent and waited for Rika to follow before pulling out his pack and blanket. Rika shrugged on her small pack and helped him roll the blanket.

 _She learns so fast_ He smiled and broke down the tent, slightly nursing his arm.

With everything packed and ready they headed out on the same path before. Yuki was sure to keep a closer eye on his companion, making sure she didn't touch any bug Pokémon or pick and suspicious berries. "Oh!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Here, Nurse Joy gave us this." He handed her the booklet and opened to a page with a familiar fruit. "These are plants that we can eat and use like medicine. Make sure you only eat these."

Rika looked at the small glossy pages in amazement. Pictures of berries, leaves, roots and seeds covered the pages surrounded by cluttered words. She looked at Yuki skeptically then down at the booklet.

"Only eat these?" She mimicked. Yuki nodded smiling. She shrugged and brought the booklet to her mouth, ripping a long piece off with her teeth. It tasted awful but Yuki had told her it was food and it was OK to eat.

Yuki's eyes widened as the girl ripped the page out and began chewing it. The look on her face made him want to laugh but instead he grabbed the book away and tried to keep a firm face.

"You don't eat this!" He pulled the slightly damp strip of paper hanging from her lips and put it in the back cover of the book. "You eat the things the book tells you to eat." He sighed at her dumbfounded look. "The pictures are of what you can eat."

Rika shifted uncomfortably. She had done what he said yet he was still upset. He was talking a lot and she was having a hard time following. She stared at him as he made his way to a small bush and flipped through the pages of the book. He found a small blue berry and picked it. He compared it to the picture then showed it to her. "See the book says this is an Oran Berry. It is good for you." He showed her the picture of it and held the fruit out to her. She regarded it skeptically not wanting to be yelled at again, then finally took it and popped it in her mouth. A sweet juice filled her mouth and she felt almost instantly more energetic. She smiled and twitched her ears.

"Is it good?" Yuki asked plucking another one off and popping it in his mouth.

"It's good" she smiled, picking one. She looked at the picture in the book and the connection finally hit her. "More?" She held the book open and wandered to different plants, pulling fruits and leaves then bringing them back for Yuki to look at. He began making small piles of what was and was not meant for eating.

"Alright, I think we have plenty to snack on for a while." He smiled, filling some of the pockets on his and Rika's belts. "We're almost to the next town so we can stop there for the night and get some dinner." He began walking along the road again and Rika ran up behind him, still looking through the pictures in the book. She flipped the page again as they walked and stopped, stunned. A bright, highly detailed picture of a spiky yellow fruit was drawn out on the page. Though no more than a week had passed, Rika felt as if it were years. She could taste it in the back of her throat as the memory of that day flooded her mind. Nostalgia filled her eyes with tears as she stared at the book.

 _It is the last thing we ate together._ She thought somberly. She stared at the picture for what felt like a long time when Yuki's hand touching her face startled her back in to reality.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as his thumb brushed at the weak stream of tears on her face.

Rika looked up shocked. When had she started crying? She backed away, dropping the book and vigorously wiped her face dry. She didn't want Yuki to see her cry again. She had to be strong if she wanted to save her brothers. Crying was for newborn Pokémon and even they didn't do it often. She shook her head and pointed ahead. "Next town." She said walking past the confused boy.

He stared after her then picked up the book lying face down on the road. The page was open to a Small yellow fruit called a Pinap-berry. Yuki shrugged and closed the book, jogging to catch up with Rika.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuki smiled as Rika's jaw dropped. Sure Vermilion City was big but Saffron City was huge. They stood on a tall hill looking over the city anxiously anticipating what they might find.

"It's big." Rika breathed. This was insane. How could humans build such huge things? The sun bouncing off of the shimmering buildings built anticipation inside of her as Yuki continued on.

"Yeah, my little city doesn't even compare." Yuki smiled excitedly. "Man, it's been years since I've been back here. I can't wait to show you around. There's the fountain and the restaurants! Oh and the city park and-"

Rika grabbed his sleeve and looked up at him seriously. "There are rockets?"

"We might find more information once we get into the city." He said, his buzz killed. How could he be so dense? This wasn't some date or just a day on the town. There were serious forces working here and he had no idea how long Rika had to complete the task she had been given. He grabbed her hand and led her down the hill and on the stone paved road that would take them towards the center of town. Rika let herself be led. The feeling of him holding on to her hand made her heart flutter but it also made her feel less nervous about entering the foreign place. She dropped her ears. Yuki had been so excited about coming to this place and she had ruined it for him. She watched the light drain from his eyes when she asked about the rockets. _Why do I have to be so dense?_ She scolded herself and walked along silently for a while.

People of all shapes and sizes milled along the path, cutting around the odd couple as they walked silently. Rika flinched, feeling nervous. There were so many humans here, crowding together all around her, making her feel caged in. Her heart began to pound with anxiety as the faces and voices of all of the people seemed to close in around her. She grabbed Yuki's sleeve, pulling him to a halt and looked up at him.

"What is fountain?" she asked with a bit of difficulty.

Yuki's gloom lifted slightly. "What are fountains." He corrected. "It's like water gun from a Blastoise but a machine does it."

Rika stared in wonder at her friend and pulled his hand, the sight of his reassuring smile brought her back from the sinking feeling and the anxiety turned to butterflies as she imagined what a fountain might look like.

"Find fountain?" She squeaked.

Yuki smiled and ran his hand though his hair as he was led by the excited girl. They walked a short distance hand in hand when Rika suddenly pulled away. Yuki gasped and tried to reach out but his voice was lost in the sea of murmuring people cascading around him.

Red. She saw the color red. Vague memories flashed like rapid fire through her mind. The clothes, red, the weapon, her own blood, red. Flash! Flash! Flash! One after another the memories filled her mind. It was them. It was the Rockets that took her brother. Well… it was one of them. She tried to remember the 'name' the female human had called her companion. Rey? Car?

"Yo, Clay!" a voice called. The Rocket looked towards the voice and quickly changed direction fading in to the sea of people that seemed to grow thicker and thicker as she wandered further in to the city. Rika dropped her ears and ran through the plethora of bodies in her way. Her small frame let her move through the masses quickly so keeping up with the goon was no trouble. She tailed him to a sketchy looking alley way and stopped at the mouth of it. Clay disappeared around a corner, leaving Rika standing alone the opening staring in to the darkness. Taking a steadying breath, she darted in to the alley and turned the corner only to see that it was a dead end.

"Hey cutie" A cocky sounding voice said from behind her.

Rika turned in shock to the familiar face of Clay standing behind her. He clipped a Pokéball to his belt and sauntered towards her. "Yo! Giovanni, is this the girl you saw?" he asked over his shoulder. A small boy probably no older than ten ran up behind the Rocket and nodded.

"My friend here thinks you're real cute, he's had his eye on ya all day. He thinks you've been askin about us; says you been followin' us. That true little lady?" Clay asked stepping uncomfortably close to her. Rika backed against the wall and looked up at the goon. When she had seen him, her mind had gone blank. She thought he would lead her to brothers, not corner her like this. She tried to summon the static feeling but nothing happened as she stared in horror at the man advancing on her.

"Madame said to find more girls for the Rockets." The boy smiled. "Maybe she's lookin' to be a new member?"

Clay smiled broadly and put his arm on the wall above Rika's head, trapping her against the cold brick. Rika shrunk in on herself. Her voice was mute in fear and her body trembled slightly. Clay put a finger under her chin, making her look up at him.

"Whatcha' think little lady, can a fanatic like you hang with the cool kids?" He flicked her dropped ear as he said fanatic. Like it was something dirty. Rika's vision shifted to behind Clay to the little boy who stood with a lackadaisical stance as Clay moved to block her vision.

"What's wrong girl?" He asked Flicking her bangs out of her face. "Meowth got your tongue?" He grabbed her face and squeezed her cheeks, forcing her mouth open to a pained squeak. He smiled and moved his hand to her throat, holding her against the wall.

"Well I see a tongue in there and some sharp little canines. Rika struggled against Clay's grip as his free hand pulled her arm up, in one movement he spun her, pushing her face against the cool building wall and wrenched her arm up behind her.

"Yo, Geo, go keep watch. Since our little fanatic here won't speak, I'll have to find another way to get an answer from her.

Rika's heart pounded in her chest as the young boy hesitated for just a moment before rounding the corner and disappearing from sight. "No." she called after him, "No!"

Don't go, don't leave me with this horrible man. Please… "No!"


	8. Chapter 8

Yuki worked his way through the dense crowd, pushing past angry commuters working their way to and from home. His mind was reeling as he searched the crowd for any flashes of that bright yellow hair he had become so fond of.

"Rika, where are you?" He grimaced. His frame, though not large, prevented him from moving quickly through the people around him and in frustration he dived out of the current in to a narrow alley.

"Hey man, you can't come this way." A young boy snarled, startling him.

"Sorry, I'm trying to find my friend but the people here… I don't remember the city ever being this crowded." Yuki ran his hand through his hair and stared out in to the street.

"Cool story mister, but chou've gotta' leave. My boss is gonna be real sore if you interrupt him while he's doing work." The boy insisted.

Yuki waved at the boy in a dismissive manner as his mind raced to thoughts of where she could have run to.

"No!" a shrill female voice rung out from deep in the alley way, catching Yuki's attention.

"What kind of work is your boss doing back there?" He asked, subtly reaching for his clipped Pokéballs. The boy sighed but tensed slightly as the girl's voice rang out again.

"Hey, that-s" Yuki was cut off by an exaggerated sigh from the boy.

"Look mister you gotta' leave. If ya' don't, I'm gonna have to fight ya here in front-a all these nice people and I don't have that good of control of how my Pokémon act so someone's bound to get hurt, ya know?"

Yuki pushed past the boy and made his way in to the alley way, determined to see who was crying out.

It's Rika, I know her voice anywhere. It's her.

He just about turned the corner when a deafening roar sounded from behind him. He turned just as an Onyx slammed its body in to the ground, causing a slight quake that sent Yuki sprawling backwards. Pedestrians screamed as they cleared away from the giant Pokémon, and Yuki fumbled for his own Pokémon in a slight panic.

"What the hell man?" He cried out as the Onyx snarled at him.

"Look," The young boy said, "I tolds ya I'd have to do it and you went and chose to ignore the warning. Now, you can fight me or my pal Onyx here is gonna have a sinewy runt for dinner. Not good for his stomach ya know?"

Yuki wiped at sweat dripping down his face and quickly stood. The commotion had interrupted whatever was happening in the back of the alley but Yuki knew he didn't have much time before the kid's boss got back to 'work'. He faced the kid and unclipped a ball, tossing it in to the air and exclaiming "Sea King! Water gun!" The fish fell through the air, aiming a blast directly at the Onyx's head, surprising and soaking the Pokémon and its owner. Before Seaking hit the ground, Yuki threw an empty ball, catching the fish just as he used his other hand to toss up another ball. Charizard exploded out of her home with a fierce growl before swooping towards the rock Pokémon.

"Onyx!" the boy shouted, "Use Dig!" Before Charizard could strike the Onyx, it dived in to the concrete tearing up the sidewalk and street as it disappeared beneath the earth. Charizard looked around anxiously, not touching the ground while she waited for the Pokémon to emerge. She looked back at Yuki after a moment for instruction and just as she did, the Onyx exploded from the ground sending debris and dirt flying. He hit Charizard hard in the torso, sending the Pokémon flying backwards in to the building. Yuki ran to her, but Charizard flew in to the air and came down hard, scratching the Onyx down the length of its back. The Rock Pokémon cried out in pain and flicked its tail up, barely missing Charizard as she swung back around and head-butted Onyx in the back of the head. The Onyx swayed for a moment before crashing face first in to the ground and dissolving n to light as it was forced back in to its Pokéball.

Yuki beamed with a smug pride as the kid's face went from defeat to anger.

"You think that's all I got townie?" The kid cried unclipping another ball. "I won't let cha use the same trick twice!" with that he hurled the ball at the ground and a Voltorb flashed brightly, momentarily blinding both Yuki and Charizard. The kid took a step back and exclaimed "Voltorb! Self-Destruct!"

Yuki gasped. He was in a narrow alley with no way to cover himself. If the Voltorb exploded it would not only most likely bring down the buildings surrounding him, but he and the people at the back of the alley would no doubt be caught in the shock of the explosion. The Pokémon began flashing slowly as it built up its charge and slowly sank to the ground.

Yuki looked around desperately but before he could come up with a plan he heard the girl's voice exclaim,

"Pik-A-Chuuuuu!" before a searing wave of heat knocked him forward. A man's scream resonated through the alley and Yuki couldn't tell if was someone else's or his own. The wave of heat hit the Voltorb, encouraging it to speed up the process and the Pokémon seemed to flicker like a strobe light as it's face scrunched. Charizard, lunged at the Voltorb, knocking it in to the crater the Onyx had made and turned to Yuki. With a roar, she dived towards the hole just as the Voltorb exploded.


End file.
